


Silence of the Night

by janne_d



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Episode Tag, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-03-12
Updated: 2007-03-12
Packaged: 2017-10-05 14:31:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janne_d/pseuds/janne_d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Episode tag for 'Countrycide': Ianto isn't coping well with events after they return to Cardiff and retreats back to the Hub.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silence of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the International Fuzzy Bathrobe Day Challenge at 3daychallenge.

Ianto bent his head under the shower stream and let it pound on the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension. He was bruised what felt like everywhere from the encounter with the cannibal villagers and their attempt to "tenderise" him and he doubted very much whether he'd be able to sleep. Not just from the pain, but the realisation that humans, people just like them, could sometimes be more horrific than the alien threats they had faced.

It had shaken them all. Jack had seemed the least disturbed; rage had been broadcast through his unusual silence but not sick shock like the rest of them. Ianto found that disturbing in itself: what had Jack been through that the villagers' actions didn't come as an unspeakable revelation but merely another threat to be dealt with? Gwen had looked sick to her very soul after the interview she and Jack had had with the leader (and Ianto had absolutely no desire to know what he had said to her), Owen had been aggressively snarling as usual but with an undertone of jittering edginess that showed his uneasiness, and Toshiko had been shaking in her seat nearly all the way back into Cardiff.

Ianto himself had been nearly numb with the horror of their experience, a state that had lasted until Jack had dropped him at his flat and he had started to get ready for bed. The silence and the knowledge that he was alone had pressed against him until he found he was nearly unable to breathe and he had flung himself back outside and run almost all the way back to the Hub. He knew from tending Lisa there that Jack never really left the place. Ianto had cursed him for it then, for the difficulty of having to sneak past him all the time, but tonight Ianto was simply grateful to know that there was someone else around.

He hadn't sought Jack out when he arrived down the lift; despite their threats to kill each other over the mess with Lisa, their working relationship had returned to normal fairly quickly but that didn't mean Jack would want Ianto around after a day like this. There were camp beds set up in some of the many chambers and Ianto intended to see if he could sleep there now that he felt a little safer than at home. The irony of feeling safe due to the presence of someone he had previously accused of being a monster didn't escape him, but then he had a new definition of monster now, and Jack no longer seemed to qualify.

And if he couldn't sleep, he could always go back to the main chamber and keep himself occupied with work.

Ianto turned off the water, towelled off and then stepped back into the changing area only to find that his clothes had vanished and there was a clean pile of clothing and a long, dark blue bathrobe set in their place. He hesitated for a moment, but then pulled on the loose t-shirt, tracksuit trousers and the thick socks. The robe seemed a more personal gesture somehow, but the Hub was never exactly cosy and he was a little chilled so he put that on as well. It was thick and soft, and wonderfully warm and comfortable, coming right down to Ianto's ankles and wrapping him up completely and he sighed a little shakily as he lost some of the exposed, helpless feeling that the villagers' hungry gazes had given him.

When he left the room, Jack was waiting in the corridor. He didn't say anything, just looked Ianto up and down. Not in the appreciative way that usually made Ianto a little warm, he hadn't looked that way since Lisa, but more like he was checking for cracks. It made Ianto stand a little straighter and try to look non-broken. "Thanks," he said, gesturing with a sleeve of the robe.

Jack nodded once. "Come on," he said, and reached out, guiding Ianto along with a hand on his arm and Ianto was too tired and wobbly to protest. He did object when Jack gestured him down the ladder that Ianto knew led to his quarters, but Jack just gave him a look and he found himself obeying and meekly swallowing the painkillers Jack handed him once they were down.

Jack manoeuvred him gently through to the other room and Ianto stopped in surprise at seeing a small figure, black hair the only visible part above the blankets, already cuddled into Jack's bed. "Tosh didn't want to go home tonight either," Jack said quietly. He sat down on the bed and nudged her gently and Toshiko jumped up with a little cry that made Ianto wince in sympathy. "Hey, it's okay," Jack soothed, hugging her. "You're safe, you're with me and you're safe now," and Ianto swallowed hard and looked down at his feet.

"Ianto?" Toshiko said after a moment, sounding confused, and he looked up and gave her a half smile.

"Yeah. He's going to keep you company," Jack said smiling at her and then looking more seriously towards Ianto. "You're both skinny, there's enough room. And I'll be right next door, all night," he added, standing up again and moving past Ianto with a quick pat to his arm. "Try to get some sleep," he said and then he was gone, dimming the light and leaving the door slightly ajar behind him.

Ianto shuffled his feet for a moment as Tosh blinked at him sleepily. "I don't have to stay. There's other places to sleep," he offered.

"No, Jack's right, there's room," Tosh said quickly, shifting over. "And… it would be good, to not be alone," she said, twisting the blanket in her hands.

Ianto nodded agreement. He found he didn't want to take off the robe and lose its reassuring weight so he just got in the bed with it still on. It was awkward for a minute or two; Ianto was out of practice sharing a bed and Toshiko seemed uncomfortable too but then they settled down and Ianto found he was breathing easily for what seemed the first time that night.

He closed his eyes and just let his surroundings sink in. The soothing sound of Toshiko's breathing, the feel of her warm and alive against his back, Jack's steady presence in the next room, Jack's scent from the robe Ianto was cuddled into mixing with Toshiko's in Jack's bed, familiar and known and safe, wrapping the feel of them both around him.

He was asleep before he took his third breath.


End file.
